Apparatus comprising various means for unwinding, forwarding, texturing, or otherwise imparting a surface pattern to a thermoplastic film and rewinding of the ribbon or web of thermoplastic film are disclosed in the prior art: see for instance, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 23,910--Method Of And Apparatus for Producing Textured Films which issued Dec. 14, 1954 to L. H. Smith et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,054,148--Process Of Producing A Perforated Thermoplastic Sheet which issued Sept. 18, 1962 to W. F. Zimmerli; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,275--Apparatus And Method Of Goffering Thermoplastic Materials which issued Sept. 11, 1951 to R. Colombo. See also the German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,409,497 published Nov. 11, 1975 which teaches the use of radially inwardly impinging hot air jets in combination with vacuum inside a cylinder having a perforated surface to cause a thermoplastic sheet passing therebetween to become perforated. Also, reference U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,221--Dynamic Stress-Strain Testing Of Ribbons Of Film which issued July 4, 1972 to Coenraad E. Riemersma.
The prior art also discloses various methods of making perforated members: see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 3,453,712--Method of Making A Porous Roll which issued July 8, 1969 to R. G. MacKendrick; U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,208--Method of Fabricating A Perforated Panel For A Vacuum Work-Holder Or Chuck which issued Oct. 19, 1971 to H. A. Seberg et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,247,579--Circuit Fabrication Method which issued Apr. 26, 1966 to L. H. Cattermole et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,240--Method Of And Apparatus For Debossing & Perforating a Running Ribbon Of Thermoplastic Film which issued to Lucas et al. on Apr. 24, 1979.
The prior art does not disclose, however, solutions to all of the problems associated with providing a method of and apparatus for texturing a web of thermoplastic material.